Man Cave Mk2

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b33fy
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Re: Man Cave Mk2

Postby b33fy » Fri Jan 17, 2025 8:27 pm

DJ. wrote:I find it mind boggling how much there is to do refurbishing a house makes me glad we are happy living where we are.

I've just started the winter servicing on my Seven, hopefully not too much to do although I've already found the reversing light wiring needed repair and I know the front wheel bearings are due for greasing and the brake fluid needs changing :roll:


It’s not so bad, mostly repetitive tasks that aren’t too taxing with the odd curveball and a few tasks best left to the trades. Just takes considerable time because of the scale.

That said kitchen is a bit of a curveball with units needing modifying and difficult to cut 12mm compact laminate worktops. One pass and the blade is toast on the saw. Router bits don’t fare much better. They look smart but not DIY by any stretch of the imagination. A high quality router and biscuit jointer is needed along with some seaming suction clamps to pull the joints together. Luckily I managed to get a pair of clamps for £230 instead of £550 from Screwfix.

The thicker 40mm laminate tops, with the chipboard core, are a breeze in comparison. Ten minutes to cut the breakfast bar ends. More than double the time with compact tops as you have to rough cut then make a pass with the router to finish. We’re slowly getting there. Stewart the slater is doing a bit of painting in the two bedrooms for us just to move things along while we mess about with the kitchen.

Not been able to get onto the wood burner as we’ve so much clutter in the way atm. More of the same next week with lots of fiddly jobs, hopefully the kitchen will be finished by the end of the week.

A couple of shots from Eyemouth this week as we dipped out and had an afternoon off.
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Power.. small nail, fast hammer, Torque.. small nail, big hammer.. I got a big hammer :P

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DJ.
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Re: Man Cave Mk2

Postby DJ. » Sun Jan 19, 2025 4:56 pm

Once you've finished the kitchen, you'll have no excuse for all those unhealthy meals you post pictures of......I'm expecting to see kale smoothies and carrots for breakfast ;)

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Re: Man Cave Mk2

Postby b33fy » Fri Jan 24, 2025 10:56 pm

Looking forward to cooking a decent meal, sadly a little way off yet. The electrics at the other end are a total mess and we don’t have a gas meter as yet, so more of the same for now Duncan :lol:

Slow week, the kitchen has been a ball ache at every opportunity. Probably down to our incompetencies, mostly due to the compact laminate worktops which are a pain to cut, prepare and join. They eat jigsaw blades, lucky to get one pass before the blade is shot. Circular saw is better, router bits don’t last long and is hard going with small passes each time.

I’ve a Makita 1/2” router which only comes out for worktops, a Makita Biscuit Joiner, Trend templates and a Dewalt 54v saw. G clamps and silly expensive suction clamps. Despite having the right gear it was still a struggle to fit them resulting in a cluster poop and the purchase of another worktop. Got there eventually. Now got plenty of spare worktop to use in the bathrooms. Just have to get over the fact it doesn’t quite fit in with the colour schemes :lol:

Kitchen splash back is damaged so can’t progress the extractor, bridging unit pelmets etc until a new one is sorted. Sorted the appliance wiring, used some grid switches in a cupboard rather than loads of fused switches above the work surface.

Bedrooms and bathrooms are now painted so decided to have a day off from the kitchen today and fit some bathroom taps. Had a general clear up as well. Wasn’t in the mood to do anything too taxing as Storm Eowyn would be pounding away all day. Gusts around 80mph through out the day and came away with a broken gutter and downpipes on the shed. I’ll gladly take that.
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Power.. small nail, fast hammer, Torque.. small nail, big hammer.. I got a big hammer :P

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DJ.
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Re: Man Cave Mk2

Postby DJ. » Sat Jan 25, 2025 7:12 pm

Good to hear your new roof survived the storm, if it will take that, it should be good for a long time.

Shame about that splash back. The work tops sound a nightmare, but if the material is that tough they should see you out :D

How long do the gas companies take to fit a meter?

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Re: Man Cave Mk2

Postby b33fy » Fri Jan 31, 2025 11:03 pm

Not sure on the meter Duncan, it’s made more complicated by needing to sort the electric meters out and go under one provider. I want them to connect the new consumer unit up while they’re at it, but we’re a bit of a way off from that at present.

Another slow week with a bit of down time Kitchen is fighting us all the way. Hob is finally in after awaiting an elbow fitting for the hose. Three failed attempts to get an undamaged splash back from Toolstation, Screwfix supply the same one so not worth bothering with. Now gone to an engineering firm who assure me they use corner protectors and double wrap the package. We’ll see next week.

A day spent messing about with plinths and lighting. Not the best but it’ll do for now.

Plans A and B didn’t work out for the coffee station/corner storage, so ran the gauntlet in IKEA. Came away with a lot of wall units which turn out to be deeper and higher than the norm so plan C was a non starter. Decided to use up all the scrap ends of wood and turn it into a coffee and wine storage unit. Works out better for swmbo who can hammer the vino while I get palpitations from the coffee.

A before and after shot thrown in, from two years ago. We hadn’t taken the floor out at that point.
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Re: Man Cave Mk2

Postby DJ. » Tue Feb 04, 2025 3:18 pm

Wow that is a transformation worthy of Grand Designs, you should have called Kevin McLoud :D

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Re: Man Cave Mk2

Postby b33fy » Mon Feb 10, 2025 11:52 pm

DJ. wrote:Wow that is a transformation worthy of Grand Designs, you should have called Kevin McLoud :D


:lol: Thanks Duncan, It’s a bit of an eye opener looking at some of the early images.

Sadly not much done last week, the dreaded covid caught up with me. Did a few odds and ends, finally got a dent free splash back and fitted that and finished the extractor.

Back on it today cutting and jointing the worktop for the coffee station/wine bar lash up. Only chewed up two cutting discs and two router bits this time. Bloody awful material to work with, never again. Most of the corner unit was from IKEA and it had a faulty hinge. I mentioned it on the second visit when I returned some unused units. The lady said that they would get a new hinge for me out of the corner unit pack as they were unique to it. On collection they gave me the whole unit! Worked out well as I made a full size template out of it for the worktop then ran the router around it, once the top was biscuit joined. When I say “ran” it was more about pushing and pulling with considerable strength until the burning smell got too much or the router got a bit too warm. All done now, just the upstands and door to add. I’ll need to get a new cutter for the biscuit jointer as well. :roll:
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Power.. small nail, fast hammer, Torque.. small nail, big hammer.. I got a big hammer :P


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